


Dazed and Loopy

by TheWitchOfTheRock



Series: Lab Partners [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Cuddles, Cute, F/M, Hair, corrupted, drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 23:04:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20317495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWitchOfTheRock/pseuds/TheWitchOfTheRock
Summary: Hordak gets hit with some corrupted First One's tech, and Entrapta has to keep him safe from himself until he sobers up.





	Dazed and Loopy

Work on the portal continued.

They were going on Entrapta’s theory that a piece was missing- so to speak. But if they had built the portal they were both certain that they could make the missing piece themselves. 

To this end, Entrapta had scrounged every last scrap of first ones tech she had, determined to find something they could alter to stabilize the portal.

Hordak was going through data from the last few tests, hoping to pinpoint what it was that caused it to break each time. He saw in each test a steady rise in power, followed by a spike just before the portal collapsed on itself.

But what caused the collapse?

As he was pondering, something rolled over to him from the pile Entrapta was working through - a small, black disc. 

He gave a low sigh, “try not to lose any pieces.” He said as he reached down to take the disc, “We have precious little as it-“

Entrapta cried out just a little late. He hadn’t made sense of what she had said before he had the disk In his hand.

It sparked. A chill ran through him. 

Then there was pain.

His entire body burned with an indescribable pain. Parts of him that had long since been amputated caught fire. A cry he couldn’t hear ripped from his throat. 

Then darkness.

————————-

Of course Entrapta had kept some of the material that had messed with Adoras sword. There was so much data to be gained from it!!

But she hadn’t thought Hordak might be affected by it. 

She watched in horror as his body arched back in pain, and an unnatural cry ripped from his throat.

She froze for a moment, but then jumped into action. She jumped up, latched onto Hordaks’s back, holding onto him with her hair. She took her screwdriver, popped open a little compartment on his back, and pushed the screwdriver into a small slot that had been hidden. She turned the screwdriver. 

Hordak jolted, the armor loosened and fell down around him. The screams subsided, and his body went limp. She cradled him in her hair and set him gently to the ground. 

“Hordak!!” She gave him a firm shake, and was about to check for vital signs but realized that she wasn’t sure what she’d be looking for! His breathing was different, his heart didn’t work the same….

As she was agonizing over what to do, his eyes fluttered open- red, but perhaps a bit more dull than before.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake! Are you ok? Are you in pain? Can you move??!!”

Hordak slowly sat up, his body moving sluggishly, his ears down almost parallel to the ground. His eyes were half open as he looked at her, he seemed to take an extra moment to focus on her before he was properly seeing her. His body leaned forward as he lifted his arm, and pointed at her, his finger pressing between her eyes. 

“You,” He slurred, “have a lotta hair” 

Entrapta blinked in confusion, then relaxed. Symptoms were aligned with what she’s seen in Adora, and she expected that she could probably see the same rate of recovery. 

Still, Adora hadn’t been in pain like he had. 

She held him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes “are you sure your ok?”

He dropped his hand from her face, and leaned in “I’m F-iiiiine. Fine. Fine. Ff—f-f.” He bit his lower lip slightly a few times, then rubbed it. “That’s weird. That sound. It feels weird. “

Entrapta was sure he’d be fine, he didn’t seem in pain- that was good. More studies would have to be done on the effects on first ones tech.

However, testing was likely done for the day.  
“Alright Hordak” She said gently, let’s get you sat down somewhere”

She pulled him gently to his feet. He stumbled, but caught himself, his body still uncharacteristically slouched.

“Nu… the” his eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. “The Portal! We have to fix the portal.” he stumbled forward towards their work.

“Hordak, no no! You can’t work on the portal like this!” She pulled a screwdriver from his hand just as he picked it up. He stared confused at his hand for a moment before grabbing a wrench. She took the wrench and grasped his wrist with her hair. With his other hand he picked up a different screwdriver. She took that too and grasped his other hand.

“Seriously-“ She said, “You have to-“

There was a knock on the door, followed by the mechanical woosh of it opening. Hordak opened his mouth to say something but Entrapta quickly silenced him with her hair and pulled him up into the darkness and safety of the rafters, her hair binding his arms to his sides. 

She didn’t recognize the officer standing down below, and they didn’t stay long upon realizing Hordak wasn’t there. Which was good, yes, but she had to get Hordak out of the sanctum. Somewhere safe and private- if his officers saw him like this… well, he’d never live it down, and he’d blame her, Entrapta knew, for the whole thing. 

Thankfully she knew a safe, private place she could bring him through the vents, so nobody would see him. 

———

It took a few minutes to get through the vents with Hordak in tow, bound by her hair. He was thankfully still and quiet as she navigated to her “room” for lack of a better word. She had insisted on having one when Catra took her out of the prisons, and though it was mostly a mess of spare parts and tools, in the corner was a huge, fluffy, purple, pillow like bed with lovely furry fabric covering it. It was one of the few non- essentials she had insisted on being brought to the Fright Zone.

She set Hordak on the bed - the rest of the room was a mess of wires and equipment- and lowered herself down carefully before finally releasing him. He sat up, and looked around in confusion “where are we”

“My..room?” Entrapta said, pensive for the moment. “This is where I sleep. I’ve secured the doors, so nobody gets In unless I want them in.”

“We’re gonna work on the … on the...on the stuff here then?”

When Entrapta brought Hordak to her room, her main concern had been privacy. The infirmary was closer, but she figured a higher up might be able to get in there in case of emergency. She also didn’t know how long Hordak would be woozy- her room was cozier, and though the floor was covered in spare parts, roomier. 

But what hadn’t passed her mind was safety. There was still plenty of stuff here that a dazed and loopy Hordak could use to cause some damage. He could also get out if she didn’t watch him- and she was certain he didn’t want to wander the Fright Zone without his armor. 

“Nope!” She said cheerfully, “You’re sitting right here-“ she lifted him with her hair and sat him in the middle of the bed, plopping him down, “Until you feel better!”

Interesting. There was an odd dissonance to seeing Hordak in her room, sat up looking very confused as he slowly sunk into her bed.   
she thought, though she knew he’d hate hearing that. 

“I’m f-ine”’he tried to snap, but his voice was too slurred, and he lingered on the “f” sounds of his words too long. 

“No, you’re not. I calculate a 90% dip in focus, cognitive function, and inhibition. For your own good, I won’t let you leave.” She rose herself up on her hair. Spreading her hands and the rest of her hair in front of him, as though to block him. 

He looked at her, skeptical, a low “hmmmmmm” ringing from his throat as he rubbed his lower lip. “I feel fine.” He said slowly, “but.. ur usually right.” He sat back, his shoulders hunched over as he looked at her. “So imma listen to you.”

She slowly lowered her hair. She was certain he hadn’t meant to say something nice, but to her. That was actually a little sweet.   
“No portal work” he stated simply. 

Entrapta lowered herself with a sigh of relief.

“But there’s lotsa other stuff I can get done,” he said as he struggled to lift himself out of the very soft, plush bed, “I can’t just sit here.”

Entrapta thought. She needed to keep him calm, sat on the bed, nice and safe. But beyond restraining him -a last resort- how could she….

She had an idea. 

She lifted herself up, plopped herself behind him on the bed, pulled him to her so he was effectively leaning back against her, sat between her legs. Then she started playing with his hair. 

She had done this once before - only once. The effect with a guarded- though exhausted Hordak had been instantaneous: relaxed muscles, a slight droop and darkening of the ears, and an overall calmer disposition. She expected the same now but as she started playing with his hair, he didn’t just relax- he practically melted against her, sinking into the bed. His ears dropped, and he gave a low, contented hum. He even went so far as to press his head into her hand. 

Entrapta gave a low chuckle- worried for a moment that that would snap him out of it, but then remembered that he was loopy. “You actually really like this, don’t you?” She asked. In response, Hordak gave a little “mmhmm” which she took to be affirmative. 

“Alright! “ she said, “If you can stay still and calm until you feel better, I’ll play with your hair the whole time. How does that sound?!”

Another low, soft, “mmhmm.” He honestly seemed too contented to move. 

She slowly unwrapped her hair from around him. 

“No” he murmured softly. Entrapta froze, thinking me meant he didn’t want his hair played with. 

“No?”

“Mm..leave t’hair on me.” He murmured. “I like it” 

Entrapta felt her face flush suddenly, but obliged, moving her hair over his arms so he could move if he wanted to. He rested a hand over her hair, letting his thin fingers twine with the purple strands, then shifted his head, nuzzling into some hair near his face.

She smiled, and gave a soft “aww.” Before catching herself. “You’re going to hate me when you’re back to normal.”

His eyes opened, and he looked up at her, suddenly deadly serious. He lifted his hand and pointed at her, letting the tip of his finger rest between her eyes. 

“I could -never- hate you.”

They started at each other for a moment, then Hordak dropped his hand, nuzzled back into her hair, and muttered, “keep playing.” 

She didn’t realize at first that she had stopped. She continued. “Why do you like this so much.” She mused. 

“I have feeling in my hair.”

She froze for a second, then continued, “I didn’t realize.” She said. Hordak made an ambiguous dismissive noise 

“Is it like mine?” She asked, “can you grab things with yours…. if it was longer?”

“Nah… it’s more for atmospheric sensory and pressure . “

Entrapta let a long moment of silence passed before she asked, “can I...ask you some more questions? I’m curious about your species!”

“Go right ahead”

——————-

There are times when you’re walking somewhere, doing something entirely mindlessly, and suddenly you come to an area you’re unfamiliar with, and wonder how you got there. You’re off in a daze, and suddenly you’re in looking at records, trying to recall what you’re looking for. Sometimes you’re walking down a corridor and suddenly realize you’ve gone somewhere you didn’t intend. 

Sometimes, you wake up swaddled in hair, babbling about something you can’t remember while your…..Friend plays with your hair. 

A jolt of horror ran through Hordak as he tried to recall the gaps in his memory.

“Y’alright? You went quiet there suddenly.”

“This is…. your room...right?”

“Yup! Can you remember how you got here?”

He could, sort of. It was slightly dreamlike, and blurry. He had the general gist though. He sat up quickly. 

“What were we talking about?” He asked. He knew he had been doing most of the talking but ...”

“Nothing. Science stuff.” Entrapta gave him a big smile and then a quick, gentle squeeze with her hair before she released him. “Let's get back to the lab. I think I have some ideas on keeping your armor stable around bad first ones tech… and ideas for a few new improvements!!

Hordak half wanted to press further, get more details, but maybe in this case, ignorance was bliss.


End file.
